Tuesday, November 15, 2016

In case you don't know this about me, I am a HUGE Jane Austen fan. BUT, I feel it important to state that Pride and Prejudice is NOT my favorite of her novels. I am actually quite partial to Persuasion. It's brilliant and I feel like it's the story of my life minus the engagement at 19 that resulted in the love of my life joining the navy that then made him rich thus making it a bit awkward when he shows up again in my life 8 years later. And I'm not rich either. Okay, so I can't actually relate to the main points of the story other than holding on to hope for happiness even when everything around you is bleak. But, I digress...

Jane Austen is legit. Love her work. She's so funny and brings up so many good points. I feel like we might have been friends had we known each other in real life. It would have been cool. Kind of like Mansfield Park, which is a book Jane wrote. It's been adapted many times, like all of her work. There is an adaption from 1994 that I really like. A very young Jonny Lee Miller plays Edmund Bertram who wants to be a minister. And his cousin, Fanny Price, comes to live with them when she's a kid and grows up and falls in love with him. There's some scandal and a few marriage proposals involving other people and then a very classic Austen ending.

Jonny Lee Miller also played the beloved Mr. Knightley in the 2004 adaption of Emma produced by the BBC. His performance in this role is amazing and definitely worth looking in to. And the difference in his portrayal of both Austen characters really does show the scope of his acting ability. Even though both characters are similar, there are distinct differences that he really brings out.

And then, in 2012 CBS decided to get in on a very popular book series and created a show called Elementary. It focuses on Sherlock Holmes in modern times living in New York City. This played off of the fame of BBC's smash hit Sherlock, the title role being played by Benedict Cumberbatch. While it did not take off as hugely as Sherlock did, it has maintained a steady viewership over it's previous five seasons and is actually a
very remarkable and true adaption.

They have gender bent some of the roles, but they have done it in a way that is fascinating and well played. Joan Watson played by Lucy Liu takes the place of the traditional John Watson and Jamie Moriarty, played by Natalie Dormer, takes the place of James Moriarty. Both Liu and Dormer are absolutely extraordinary in their key roles in Sherlock's life.

At first I was hesitant, but this last summer I binge watched the entire series in two and a half weeks and I can honestly say that I fe

el like Elementary is a very true and amazing adaption. I love the way that Jonny portrays Sherlock. He brings out the idiosyncrasies that make Sherlock Sherlock. He plays up Sherlock's struggle with addiction in a very convincing but honest way. It's a major point of the show, but is not over done. The emotions and intricacies of the plots are beautiful and Jonny makes them all work together.

And speaking of Benedict Cummberbatch sharing a character with Jonny, in 2011 Jonny and Benedict Cummberbatch shared the title role in Danny Boyle's Frankenstein. They alternated the roles of Frankenstein and his monster. I haven't actually seen this adaption in it's entirety, but what I have seen was very impressive. Jonny and Benedict are good friends and support each other playing Sherlock, which I think is cool.

To see all of Jonny's film and TV credits, check out his iMDB page HERE.

And to celebrate his birthday today, I have made Swig style Sugar Cookies!!!

Apparently Swig is a popular drink shop around Utah county, where I am from. I am not a big soda drinker, so I've never been, but someone brought me one of these cookies and I fell in love with them and found a recipe to make my own!! I took the Tried and Tasty blog's lemon swig cookie (which is AMAZING) and made them vanilla instead of lemon, though both are totally delicious and worth making.

I realize that might seem like a lot of vanilla, and you are more than welcome to put in less. I loved the vanilla-y flavor that adding a Tablespoon gave the cookies, so it really comes down to what you like.

These cookies are a bit tricky, so follow my instructions completely! Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Start with creaming the butter and sugars together for about 2-3 minutes. While that is whipping into light and yummy goodness, you're going to take a separate bowl and combine the flour, cream of tarter, salt and baking soda and then set the bowl aside.

Once the sugar and butter mixture is whipped, stream the oil into the mixture while the mixer is beating. Add the vanilla and beat in the eggs one at a time until well combined. Add the dry ingredients slowly and then mix until dough is well combined.

Roll dough into 2 inch balls about 3 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Take 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and the bottom of a glass or a tart press (about 2.5 inches in diameter) and dip the press in the sugar then press down on the cookie dough until it is about 1/2 inch thick. The edges will crack, and that's cool. They are supposed to do that.

Bake for about 8 minutes. You don't want them too crisp because you want them to be delicious.

For the frosting, I just made my regular Buttercream Frosting for these, the recipe of which can be found HERE.(scroll all the way to the bottom of the post. It's there, I promise!)

If you are making the lemon version from the link above, definitely make the lemon frosting she gives you the recipe for. It's so so good!!

About Me

Between working and sleeping I find time to write the next great fiction series. I graduated with a Bachelors in Creative Writing with an emphasis in Screenwriting. As if that wasn't enough, I LOVE LOVE LOVE baking and want to open a little cafe at some point.